Another huge wave of bans has hit Magic: The Gathering’s Standard format. This time the bans are squarely aimed at some of the most powerful cards across multiple formats. After the banning of Field of the Dead, Oko, Thief of Crowns quickly took over the meta. Making up a huge portion of the top decklists, Oko’s ability to swiftly take control of the board was unrivaled. However, Oko isn’t alone, as a ton of other cards across Standard, Brawl, Legacy, and Vintage were addressed This makes it the biggest banning since Hogaak was taken out of Modern.
Before we get into the weeds, here is every new card added to the ban list:
Standard
- Oko, Thief of Crowns
- Once Upon a Time
- Veil of Summer
Brawl
- Oko, Thief of Crowns
Legacy
- Wrenn and Six
Vintage
- Narset, Parter of Veils (Restricted)
Modern, Commander, & Pauper
- No Changes
In Standard, Oko, Thief of Crowns, Once Upon a Time, and Veil of Summer are all banned. While many suspected Oko was next on the chopping block, some may be surprised to see Veil of Summer alongside it. Wizard’s explained that the card’s cheap cost and potent ability made it difficult for the Standard meta to progress as it shut down many options for counterplay. It became a must-have card for sideboards in any deck that could run it.
Finally, Veil of Summer is also playing an important role in preventing the metagame from being able to self-correct. Cards that played similar roles in the past, like Autumn’s Veil and Display of Dominance, proved a lower power level than desired in their respective Standard environments, leaving green with a weaker option compared to the other “color hate” cards in those cycles. Veil of Summer is at the other end of the spectrum. It’s too much more efficient than the other cards in its cycle, and by comparison to other tools available in Standard, gives green decks too much resilience against removal and disruption.
Once Upon a Time’s banning is also unsurprising, as the ability to just have a free spell if it’s the first one cast that turn made it exceptionally powerful. It allowed players to keep mediocre hands due to the level of mana fixing it offered. Even though we don’t believe it would have been banned if it always cost two mana, having a “free spell” easily rocketed the green decks above others.
In a meta where potent 1-toughness creatures exist, Wrenn and Six was a force to be reckoned with. The card helped push Temur Delver to over a 50% win-rate, making it one of the best decks in Legacy. Wrenn and Six could also do some despicable things with land destruction cards, allowing players to deny their opponent both resources and mana. Hopefully, this banning will make the card more affordable for Modern and Commander players.
Finally, Narset, Parter of Veils has been restricted in Vintage. Wizards of the Coast explained their reasoning, stating that the card was “…contributing to one-sided games at a higher degree than is healthy. ” The bannings for these cards are currently live on MTG Arena and Magic Online – paper players have until November 22nd before the banning is enforced.